Columbia and Washougal finished in a tie for first in the girls’ portion of a seven-school cross country meet at Trout Lake. Goldendale’s Ellie Rising was the top area finisher in second place, while Columbia’s Joules Hope was third. Washougal won the boys’ team title. Trout Lake’s Justin Peck took second, and Columbia’s Jacob Lockman was fourth.
Stevenson’s boys finished third in a five-school race at Seton Catholic. Julio Ramos was the top finisher for the Bulldogs…ending up in 11th place. The Bulldogs’ Isabella Spencer was seventh in the girls’ race.
The operator of a commercial truck died as the result of injuries suffered in a single vehicle accident early Wednesday morning on eastbound Interstate 84 between Hood River and The Dalles. According to the Oregon State Police, the accident occurred at about 1:50 a.m. near milepost 74. A preliminary investigation showed the commercial truck was east bound in the right-hand lane when it drifted off the roadway, impacted a rock embankment, and caught fire. The driver who died in the accident was identified as 50-year-old Leo Stratton of Portland. The OSP was assisted by the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, Mosier Fire Department, Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue, and ODOT.
One man died and another sustained critical injuries in a head-on collision Tuesday afternoon on Highway 26 at milepost 74 in Wasco County. The Oregon State Police says a preliminary investigation revealed a pickup truck operated by 65-year-old Lanny Hawley of Gresham was traveling eastbound on Highway 26 at about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday when for unknown reasons the truck crossed over the center line into westbound traffic and struck an SUV driven by 52-year-old Kyle Estes of Medford. Estes was pronounced deceased at the scene due to injuries sustained in the crash. Hawley was air lifted to a trauma hospital in Bend for critical injuries. Highway 26 was closed for approximately six hours following the crash.
The Port of Hood River Commission has adopted a set of minimum standards for businesses that want to operate at the Ken Jernstedt Airfield. It’s the first time such a set of standards has been put into place, and includes the types of businesses allowed and requirements like insurance, services offered, certifications, and other basic staffing requirements. Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says the facility will remain a small, non-tower airport, but the standards are based on the expectation of future demand. In addition, the Port Commission approved revisions to the ordinance that clearly define correct procedures for take-offs and landings at the airport.
We may be experiencing cooler temperatures and occasional rain showers in the Gorge, but that doesn’t mean fire season is over. Kiel Nairns of the Oregon Department of Forestry’s The Dalles Unit says this has been a nice reprieve, but it will be at least another month before fire season can be declared over. A heavy rain event will be needed to have fire season declared over. As of Wednesday morning the ODF has reduced the hours of restriction for the mowing of dried grass, chainsaw use, and welding and cutting of metal on lands it protects in Hood River and Wasco counties to between the hours of 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. The current burn ban in the two counties remains in effect.
A windmill transformer headed for a windfarm in Goldendale will be the largest commercial load recorded in Washington state history. The Washington State Patrol Commercial Vehicle Division was set to weigh the transformer Wednesday when it is removed from a train at Sundale Road off Highway 14 at milepost 28. It’s estimate to weigh 1,034,000 pounds, and is 21-feet high and 360-feet long. After it’s weighed, troopers will escort the trailer and transformer up Highway 14 to milepost 100. It will then travel up Highway 97 to milepost 3 and break overnight. On Thursday evening the load will make its way from milepost 3 to Hoctor Road, and then carry on to the Goldendale windfarms. Drivers who travel on Highways 14 and 97 should be aware that because of the transformer’s significant size and difficult terrain, both highways will have traffic impacts Wednesday evening from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.
With fall Chinook salmon returns to the Columbia River tracking well below preseason predictions, fishery managers announced Tuesday the Columbia River from the mouth at Buoy 10 to the Highway 395 Bridge near Pasco will close for angling and retention of all salmon and steelhead at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. As of Monday only 75 percent of the expected adult fall Chinook have passed Bonneville Dam based on pre-season forecasts. The upriver bright Chinook return, which includes ESA-listed Snake River fish, are currently projected to return at 69 percent of expectations which means if left open fisheries could exceed the allowable harvest rate. ODFW Columbia River program manager Tucker Jones says if the return continues on its current pace, this could be the lowest fall Chinook return to the mouth of the Columbia since 2007. Except for upper Columbia sockeye most runs will come in at 30 percent or less of pre-season forecast.
The Dalles City Council on Monday heard about Columbia Gorge Community College’s planned ask for three-point-five million dollars in enterprise zone funds from the Google projects to help build a skills center and on-campus housing. CGCC Community Outreach Director Dan Spatz outlined the project, which has seven-point-three million dollars in state funding provided a local match can be provided by January, noting the need for flexible space to train workers in various trades that the skills center would provide, while building campus housing has qualified for part of the project match. The College board has approved taking on three-point-eight million dollars in debt for part of the match, and wants the City and Wasco County to approve use of the enterprise zone funds. The Dalles Mayor Steve Lawrence says when payments on the third Google agreement begin coming in, they will be at least one-point two million dollars annually for 15 years, and felt the best way to accomplish the project is for the College to sell bonds and have the enterprise zone funds pay them off over that time. CGCC will have a similar discussion with the Wasco County Commission on September 19, and Spatz noted they have not given up on seeking other forms of funding.
The Klickitat County Emergency Medical Services District is seeking a new six-year operating levy of 50 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value to put the five-year-old district on a solid financial footing. District interim operations manager Bruce Brending says the district, which was established by a vote in 2013 to provide EMS services throughout the county, has found that the current levy of 30-cents-per-thousand is not enough to effectively operate the service given the low rates of reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid, the number of bills they can collect on, outstanding debt, and increased costs of doing business. Brending says the levy replacement will allow them to keep up with equipment replacement, provide a competitive wage to retain employees, resume operation of a fourth ambulance, provide required trainings, and outfit a mass casualty incident trailer. The levy is on the November ballot.
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